In this file photo taken on January 30, 1972, a British soldier is pictured dragging a Catholic protester during the "Bloody Sunday" killings, when British paratroopers shot dead 13 Catholic civil rights marchers in Derry.THOMPSON/AFP/Getty Images

A former British soldier is set to be prosecuted in connection with the deaths of two civil rights protesters in Derry, Northern Ireland, 47 years ago, part of an incident known as Bloody Sunday, prosecutors said Thursday.

But the identity of the former soldier, identified only as Soldier F, has yet to be revealed.

The veteran will face prosecution for the murders of James Wray and William McKinney and the attempted murders of Joseph Friel, Michael Quinn, Joe Mahon and Patrick O’Donnell.

Sixteen other soldiers under investigation will not face prosecution in the shootings, which took place at the height of the unrest in Northern Ireland known as The Troubles. Prosecutors say there is not enough evidence to try them.

The charges against Soldier F follow a decade-long investigation that concluded soldiers killed 13 unarmed demonstrators protesting Britain’s detention of suspected Irish nationalists. Some 28 people were shot in total.

But the results of a long-running inquiry that concluded in 2010 could not be used in any prosecution and Thursday’s charges resulted from a separate police investigation into the incident.

He joined the 1st battalion of Britain’s famous Parachute Regiment in 1966 and was a lance corporal at the time of the killings on Jan. 30, 1972. The Bloody Sunday Inquiry into the killings, conducted by Britain’s Lord Saville, granted anonymity to all military witnesses involved, but the report makes references to Soldier F being called “Dave” by other soldiers. He is now said to be in his 70s.

Lord Saville’s final report covered some 5,000 pages, costing $352 million. It had been set up after an earlier inquiry was dismissed as a whitewash.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland first launched a murder probe in 2012, after Lord Saville found that all of those who died were innocent civilians who had not posed a threat on the day, the Irish Times reports. Files were then sent to public prosectors in Northern Ireland in December 2016. In the end, names of 20 suspects were sent to prosecutors, including 18 ex-soldiers and two alleged Official IRA men, but only Soldier F has been charged.

That leaves 19 suspects not charged and at least 11 killings unaccounted for; one further man died some months after Bloody Sunday and is often called the 14th victim, but Lord Saville’s report determined that he didn’t die from wounds suffered that day. Some of the soldiers allegedly involved are also now dead. The victims’ families have called for justice, while supporters of the soldiers say it is unfair for them to face charges decades after the events.

In 2003 testimony to the Saville Inquiry, Soldier F admitted to firing 13 rounds that day in Derry, as civil rights marchers made their way towards the city centre from the Bogside area. The killings and attempted murders Soldier F will be tried for happened in the Glenfada Park North and Abbey Park north areas of Derry.

Although a man known as Soldier H was also found by Saville to be responsible for these same deaths, prosecutors deemed there was not the same level of evidence against Soldier H, and thus “no reasonable prospect of conviction.”

At a barricade on nearby Rossville Street, six other protestors met their deaths. The Irish Times reports that Soldier F was connected to these deaths, as were other soldiers, but again prosecutors decided there was no prospect a conviction could be secured. Prosecutors found there was “no admissible and credible witness evidence that Soldier F fired at the rubble barricade,” but one victim’s body did offer up a bullet linked to a rifle Soldier F used.

Soldier F was also linked by Lord Saville to two further deaths and the wounding of other protestors at a nearby block of flats, the Times reports, but a co-accused soldier who might have pinpointed Soldier F is now dead.

In this February 1972 file photo, a building burns in the Bogside district of Derry, Northern Ireland, in the aftermath of Bloody Sunday.AP Photo/Michel Laurent

Evidence

Prosecutors have determined, though, that there is enough evidence to try soldier F for two murders and four attempted murders.

A legal expert told the BBC that he expects Soldier F will soon be named, once the case goes to a preliminary hearing in Northern Ireland.

Joshusa Rozenberg said Soldier F may argue abuse of process and unfair treatment as a defence, because no other soldiers have been prosecuted.

His legal costs, as well as welfare support, will be paid by the British government, it has been confirmed.

“We are indebted to those soldiers who served with courage and distinction to bring peace to Northern Ireland,” UK Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said. “The welfare of our former service personnel is of the utmost importance.”

William McKinney’s brother Michael said it was “disappointing” for those families whose cases would not be prosecuted, the BBC reports.

“We are mindful of those families who received that news today, and believe me, there are many. For us here today it is important to point out that justice for one family is justice for all of us,” he said.

“I wish to clearly state that where a decision has been reached not to prosecute, that this is in no way diminishes any finding by the Bloody Sunday Inquiry that those killed or injured were not posing a threat to any of the soldiers,” Stephen Herron, the director of public prosecutions for Northern Ireland, said as he announced the charges. “We recognize the deep disappointment felt by many of those we met with today.”